Auld Lang Syne
by Caranath
Summary: Some one from Frank's past shows up.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n:** _Remember me? I know it's been a long time.. six months at least. I have a really good excuse though._ _Honest. 6 months ago my husband deployed. (you can look it up on Facebook, Operation Continuing Promise 2015. no pictures of him anywhere though. sorry. he's shy.) any who, about 5 months ago, as I was in the middle of writing what I was hoping be my next big epic 'Boys in Major Danger' story, my Mac decided to go FUBAR on me. FUBAR: Fouled up Beyond all Recognition. Only being a sailor's wife Fouled was replaced by a different, more appropriate 4 letter word. It worked fine. except the 'a' key died. and then the 'e' key died. then it just snowballed.. shift key, entire second row of the keyboard. As you may remember, I am homebound and cannot drive so I had to go six months without a reliable keyboard before I could get it serviced. do you have ANY idea how hard it is to write fan fiction without the two most popular vowels?! and of course half of my passwords for important crap contained one if not both vowels. he's home now. he also retires on 1 December after a 20 year Navy Career. so while he is freaking out about finding a real, post Navy civilian job, I am trying to stay out of his way and he discovers the joy of resume writing ._

 _In the meantime, I adjusted on the fly since I couldn't write for 6 months. This is a bit of a fluff piece, focusing more on Frank for a change and revisiting his past although this is far less angsty than my last one that dealt with Frank. Maybe 5 chapters total, three of which what I would consider.. publishable. The original story arc had Frank and Gloria in deep kimchee as they attended Frank's High school reunion and crazy person with a grudge took the entire reunion hostage. It was going have Frank bleeding, Gloria trying to keep him alive and other characters from Frank's past causing issues, all while Joe was going insane with worry on the outside. Here, the reunion happens. not so much any of the other stuff, although I reserve the right to revisit that topic at a later date._

 _The last few days I have seen an upsurge in people favoriting me as an author or my individual stories, so this was the incentive I needed to go ahead and publish a new one. Thanks to all of you who have added me recently and thanks to all of you that kept hoping I'd be back._

 **Auld Lang Syne**

Frank Hardy sighed as he looked in the mirror and didn't like what he saw. With a grimace of disgust he ripped the knot of his tie apart and savagely yanked the offending piece of silk over his head. He glanced at his watch, grimaced again and slumped his shoulders in defeat. Taking a deep breath, and steeling himself for the inevitable, he reached over to the dresser and grabbed his phone.

It went straight to voicemail. Now he was frantic. Suddenly, inspiration hit. He scrolled down to the next name on his contact list. Luckily, this time it was answered.

"I'm desperate. Can I come over and raid your Tie rack?!" The eldest Hardy son pleaded into the receiver.

" _And hello to you too, I'm fine, thanks for asking_ " came the slightly amused voice on the other end.

Frank blushed. "Sorry. On a time crunch here. Nothing I have is suitable and I can't reach Joe."

With a chuckle, Fenton gave his son the affirmative. With effusive thanks he promised to be right over.

As he rushed up the driveway and up the front step, Fenton opened the door and grinned at his normally calm and placid son's agitation. "What's wrong with the ones you have?" he asked as he headed inside.

"When I put them on, all I see is courtroom." Frank explained. "I want something less austere and grim." he shrugged. "Hell I was ready to ask Joe for a Taz one!"

"That might be pushing the boundaries of good taste, Son." Fenton laughed as he opened the walk in closet door and flipped the light switch. He indicated Frank was free to peruse the extensive selection.

Frank choked back a snort of incredulous laughter as he unearthed from the very back a truly hideous brown flowery tie that had to be 5 inches wide. The pattern had obviously been designed by someone on an acid trip. "Speaking of boundaries of good taste what the hell is this?!" he cried in mock horror. Fenton snatched the offending thing out of his son's hands and said haughtily,

" _This_ was the height of fashion in it's day I will have you know."

"If I had graduated in 1974, I might be tempted. But I think this will do nicely." he held out a royal blue paisley in his other hand. It popped against the deep charcoal grey of his suit and he nodded approvingly as he beheld himself in the mirror. "Perfect."

"Very nice. Keep it. I rarely have occasion to wear suits any more." Fenton offered.

"Thanks, Dad!" Frank exclaimed as he rushed back down the stairs. "Gotta run, I am late!"

He was late. Ten minutes late, in fact. Gloria was already outside the employee entrance of the hospital, tapping a foot impatiently. As he pulled up he reached over and pushed open the passenger side door. "Sorry, Hon. Fashion emergency." he apologized.

"Hmpf. I thought only women got those." she sniffed as she tossed her duffle bag full of nursing uniform and other accoutrements into the back seat.

"It takes effort to look this good." he smiled as he pulled away and headed to the Hotel where the reunion was being held. Along the way he started telling Gloria about some of his classmates and which ones he was most looking forward to seeing. "Honestly, most of my best friends are either still in town or are in Joe's class, so the list is actually quite short." In truth there were a total of three names on that list, and one of them was Callie Shaw. Gloria knew about Callie as the mantle in the Hardy Family home was festooned with old Prom and Graduation pictures. Based on Frank's reaction whenever the blond woman's name came up, and the degree of eye rolling from Joe, Gloria was not so much jealous as slightly amused at the prospect of meeting her.

The reunion was being held at the most luxurious hotel and convention center Downtown. Frank had also taken advantage of the special room rate being offered to attendees and secured a room for the night so he could have more than one drink. As he pulled into the parking lot, he asked Gloria whether she wanted to check into the room first.

"Sounds good." she responded affably. After a short check in, they headed upstairs to their room. Along the way Frank ran into an old classmate whose face he recognized, but not the name. They paused only long enough to shake hands and exchange "see ya downstairs"-es before slipping the card into the slot and entering their room.

The king bed dominated the room and faced the balcony. While not very large it had an impressive view of the Bayport Skyline. A bottle of sparkling wine sat in an ice bucket wrapped in a a towel, two flutes next to it, along with a card welcoming them to the reunion, signed by the committee.

"Pretty fancy for a small town high school." Gloria commented as she examined the bottle.

"Says the person who had 19 people in her Senior class." Frank chuckled. "I had more than that in 1st period English."

"Hey now. Don't diss the Mountain Lions." Gloria huffed. "There are advantages to a smaller class."

"I have no doubt. But what say we head on downstairs. I feel like showing you off." Frank grinned in unconscious imitation of his brother's usual charm. It was so unlike his usual manner that Gloria looked at him strangely before picking her purse up off the bed where she had tossed it.

"What's gotten in to you?!" she asked as they exited the room and headed towards the elevator.

"What? Can't a guy be eager to show the world how lucky he is?" Frank retorted all innocent like. In truth, the inside lapel pocket of his suit jacket held a small bulge that he fully intended on producing later that evening. Privately, of course, not being nearly the show off his younger sibling was. But first, and he was not ashamed to admit it, he wanted to prove to a certain blond that her prediction was totally wrong.

By the time they reached the floor of the ball room, they had met up with several other of Frank's classmates so it was a very amiable group that exited and approached the large table where an assortment of name tags were displayed.

"Hey Liz!" Frank said as he picked up his and Gloria's tags. "Everything looks great. The champagne is a nice touch."

"You can thank Jeff Powers for that. He donated the bubbly from his liquor store." The former Class Treasurer had immediately gone into the family business after high school and was doing quite well for himself.

With a little wave to the other two ladies seated at the table with Liz, Frank ushered his girlfriend into the expansive ball room and steered her towards one of the two bars along the side. There they ran into Chet, Phil and their spouses, Pam looking like she was ready for an adult only night. "They do eventually sleep through the night, right?" she practically pleaded to Chet's wife Melissa, mother of two girls herself.

"Someday. The trick is convincing Daddy that only his touch will do the trick." she replied with a laugh and a wink at Chet, who groaned good naturedly.

"Funny how only Mommy is good enough during the day but only Daddy will do at night..." Chet lamented. Everyone got a good chuckle out of that. "Did you find your places yet at the tables, Frank?" he asked. I know you aren't at ours."

"We just got here. Shall we go find them, Dear?" he asked Gloria. "You can drop off your purse at least." she assented so they excused themselves and started wandering the tables. "Ah! Here we are!" Frank said as he spotted his name on a table placed at the outskirts of the configuration. He took off his jacket and placed it along the back of his chair before pulling Gloria's out so that she could place her purse on the seat. "Oh good. Roger is at our table too!" Roger Davis was one of the three people Frank was most eager to catch up with. Only Roger could ever consistently beat Frank at chess. As he wandered around the rest of the table picking up name cards he stopped and sighed as he read the last one. "Of course" he muttered.

"What?" Gloria asked as she picked up the offending piece of paper. "Oooh." she breathed knowingly. "Sorry, Babe."

"Meh. I would have had to make polite chit chat no matter what. Who knows. Maybe I will get lucky and my chicken will be so dry and chewy I won't have to talk until cake and coffee."

"Well, she is seated as far away from you as possible so maybe conversation won't be all that easy anyway." she pointed out. "Besides, now I can stare daggers at your ex girlfriend much easier than having to do it from across the room." Frank laughed at that, if a little ruefully.

"It wasn't that bad of a breakup. Besides, if she hadn't gone off on me that night, I never would have been unattached when I met you." Frank pointed out reasonably.

"Quit giving me reasons to not to hate Callie Shaw, Frank Hardy!" Gloria chastised her boyfriend. "As the current love of your life I am entitled to be petty and jealous and possessive!"

"Yes, Dear." Frank sighed before sighting someone he wanted to talk to. He raised his hand in a wave even as he headed back over the bar to shake hands with his lab partner all through high school, Matt Dixon. By the time Gloria made her way over, the two were deep in conversation about the old days. She and Matt's companion tried to look interested for about five minutes but gave up as they were completely ignored by their partners. The two ladies left the men standing there oblivious to everything around them and decided to powder their noses. Gloria had to wait a minute for an empty stall, so she spent the time idly observing the other women. A group of three or four were giggling like teenagers in low voiced whispers like long lost sorority sisters. Gloria pegged them as cheerleaders right away. She quickly entered the just vacated stall and did her business, listening to the gigglers leave the room. As she stepped out and went to wash her hands, she was joined by another woman at the line of sinks. Gloria just nodded and then went back to concentrating on washing, when she did a double take. Narrowing her eyes she stared hard at the woman next to her using the mirror.

Slightly shorter than she was, and more than slightly plumper. The blond hair was cut short in the universal 'Mom' cut that was low maintenance but not very flattering. There was a ring on her left hand but she wore no other jewelry. The dress was the height of fashion, ten years earlier. She gave only a quick glance over to Gloria, and obviously not recognizing her, proceeded to apply lipstick. The Nurse finished washing her hands and ran still damp ones through her hair, fluffing it up a little before reaching into her purse and spritzing a little cologne on. She turned away was headed to the door when the other woman dropped her purse, spilling a few small articles out. Gloria reached down and helped her retrieve the items, handing back the lipstick and a keychain.

"Thanks." the woman said as she stuffed things back.

"You're welcome, Callie." Gloria said.

Frank's ex girlfriend cocked her head quizzically. "Sorry I don't recognize you. Did we have some classes together?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that." Gloria laughed. "I just recognized you from the pictures."

"Oh no they didn't do that awful giant poster board plastered with everyone's yearbook photo did they?!" Callie exclaimed in dismay. Gloria laughed again.

"No. Well, yes they did but that's not where I saw your pictures." Gloria hooked an arm through Callie's and steered her back into the dining room. Matt and Frank were still deep in conversation and didn't even notice when the two ladies approached. "Look who I ran into, Darling!" she said brightly to the back facing her.

Frank turned around and looked soberly into the pale blue eyes of the woman who he had dated all through high school and for a short time beyond. "Hello, Callie. You're looking well."

 **A/n:** _oh come on you ALL knew this was the 'someone from Frank's Past' . Blue Spine Callie, TV Callie and Case Files Callie are three entirely different characters. the one I like best was TV Callie.. smart, confident, resourceful and not romantically involved with anybody. While I an not a Frank/Nancy shipper in any way shape or form, I also was never all that convinced of a Frank/Callie relationship either. Frank always seemed to me as someone who didn't need a girlfriend( or boyfriend) to fill a void. I will let you decide whether or not Frank is in character going forward._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n:** _you were supposed to get this on Wednesday. but Thursday was the Navy Ball and I was in a panic trying to get a hair appointment plus packing for the overnight stay at the hotel so he could drink more than one measly glass of champagne during the Toasting part of the dinner. so, it's now Friday, I have a massage scheduled in an hour and I was like "oh! Crap!' FF readers are going to mutiny soon!_

 **Chapter Two**

Callie Shaw had gone pale at the sight of her ex, but quickly regained her composure. "Frank, it's so good to see you. How have you been?" she smiled at the tall dark and still handsome man even as she disentangled herself from Gloria. Gloria, for her part switched positions to stand next to Frank and while she stopped short of grabbing his arm and hanging on for dear life in an attempt to stake her claim, there was little doubt who she was attending the reunion with.

"Fine, thanks. We are at the same table for dinner, perhaps we can catch up later." and to both women's surprise, he stepped away, holding Gloria's hand, causing her to follow after. Gloria shot a sympathetic look back over her shoulder, but Callie just stood there, expressionless.

"That wasn't like you, Frank!" Gloria admonished. "You are not usually so dismissive."

"For too many years, that woman manipulated me. Everything in our relationship was all about her and what she wanted. Never were my feelings considered. She always resented how well Joe and I got along, and she sure as hell had some pretty strong opinions on my line of work. I finally realized, after she threw her ultimatums down, that she was toxic." he stopped, pulled her close and kissed her. "In other words, she is nothing like you." Smiling down at her, he kissed her lightly again. "You let me be who I am, not who you wanted me to be."

They began walking again. "I'll be polite, but I have no desire to make amends or be friends again. I moved on." They spent the next 45 minutes mingling among the crowd, Gloria meeting many of Frank's old classmates and chuckling at his low voiced commentary as soon as someone moved out of earshot. His sense of humor was as well developed as his brother's; a fact she knew well, but most others didn't since Joe was always the more flamboyant and gregarious and Frank preferred to stay out of the limelight. She enjoyed meeting all his old classmates and learned early on that Frank had always been held in high regard even without his reputation as a teenaged sleuth.

Dinner was typical convention fare, and yes the chicken was dry but Gloria proclaimed her vegetarian pasta quite tasty. The conversation was quite lively at the table and if anyone noticed that at no point did Frank and Callie ever converse directly, they were too polite to comment. At one point, when all the ladies took a powder break before the arrival of dessert, Gloria made a light comment about getting some dirt on Frank from his ex. Callie only narrowed her eyes and failed to respond. Any personal questions asked of her were ignored completely or only vague non answers supplied. She was also alone at the reunion. By the time dessert was over, Gloria had given up trying to be friendly and inclusive and turned her attention to others.

The dancing was set to the music they had all listened to while in school while a large screen projected old photos of the entire class from their tenure at Bayport High School. Frank had a blast catching up with old friends and introducing Gloria around. Once or twice he caught a glimpse of Callie, who was often engaged in quiet conversation, or sitting at the table nursing a glass of wine. She looked neither miserable nor happy. When caught staring at him, she never blushed or changed expression. She merely held his eye until he was the one that looked away. But it didn't take much for him to put her out of his mind and focus his attention on Gloria and the rest of his classmates. For her part, Gloria stifled her curiosity and just enjoyed a rare night off from her job as a pediatric oncology nurse.

It was close to 1 am when they made it back to their hotel room more than a little buzzed. Frank had been perfectly content to stay longer but a fellow classmate, one he barely knew back then,let alone recognized now, bumped into him and spilled a full glass of beer down his shirt, soaking the tie his father had given him. No amount of blotting could salvage the outfit, so Gloria suggested they just head upstairs so she could rinse it out in the sink.

They slept in, a scandalous 10 am before Frank lazily checked the time. By the time they got showered, dressed and checked out it was nearly noon so Gloria suggested brunch in the hotel restaurant. Amusingly, there were several familiar faces, many nursing hangovers also taking advantage of the plentiful buffet options. Since the reunion was technically a weekend long event, kicking off the night before, there were other activities. Today's events included a baseball game between Alumni and the current school Team; dinner was going to be a private party at Tony's restaurant. Gloria attended the baseball game, but had the night shift so Frank showed up at Mr Pizza alone. He had manged to avoid sitting anywhere near Callie during the game, but by the time he got to Mr Pizza the only table with an empty seat was the one she was at. Sighing inwardly he approached the table. "Hi, Guys. Room for one more?" he asked to the table at large. Several hands waved him to sit down, and a couple added genial invitations to join them.

"One thing I miss about Bayport is Mr Pizza." one of the men said. "Chicago can keep their deep dish, Pizza should be folded, dammit!" there was universal agreement with the sentiment. Tony had outdone himself, providing a buffet of pizza, pasta, garlic bread , salad and cannoli. Conversations were an extension of the ones began at the dance and continued at the game. But once again, Frank and Callie failed to communicate directly, and this time they were called out on it.

"What gives, Hardy?!" Bret Monroe chided. "It was disgusting how lovey-dovey you two were. The only one worse was your brother." everyone else at the table laughed, and Callie blushed, looking straight at him in silent challenge; Frank refused to rise to the bait.

"We were just kids back then, Bret. A high school crush, nothing more." although he did return her gaze steadily, there was no softening of his attitude. But true to form, she didn't back down either. Once the others realized no one was going to react they left it alone much the relief of both exes.

The evening wore down, much earlier than when they had all been teenagers, and the party broke up. The only thing left on the schedule was a picnic on the shores of the lake, a common hangout during their high school years. Only about half would be attending since many of them had flights to catch or long drives ahead of them before the start of the new work week on Monday. When asked if he would be attending, Frank, shrugged. "Dunno. I have court on Monday and need to prepare. And Gloria has the night shift this week so she may need to get some rest. I'm not sure I want to come alone."

"So bring that brother of yours. Lord knows he was your shadow often enough." someone laughed. Frank smiled, a little embarrassed but made no commitment.

"We'll see. But if I don't make it, it was great seeing you all." he stood and spread his gaze over the entire table, lingering perhaps just an extra second or two on Callie. He nodded at her, then turned his back and walked out.

 **A/n:** _in the spirit of_ _full disclosure none of my high school reunions were anything like this, nor were my husband's. I went to an all girl school with a graduating class of 27 out of slightly over 125 total students. I hated every second of it being the poor scholarship kid who's daddy wasn't a local politician or owner of every car lot in the county. being disabled didn't help either. I was bullied before it became a common cause for every helicopter parent to get all up in arms over. ( i have yet to attend one in fact) my husband's lone(25th) was the exact opposite as there were like 350 in his graduating class and nobody had anything in common with anyone else any more so it was an early night since neither of us dance._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n:** _No idea what happened Monday. must've just brain farted or something. anywho: the Blond One dispenses Wisdom this chapter._

 **Chapter Three**

Monday morning, Frank met his brother at the courthouse about 15 minutes before they were due to be called to the stand. Joe took one look at him over his paper cup of coffee and smirked. "You chickened out."

Frank tried to look confused, but failed. So instead he tried to demur. "There was a never a good time..."

Joe wasn't having any of that nonsense and he shook his head while crushing the paper cup and tossing it into the basket just outside the courtroom door. "No excuse. You _make_ it the right time." he pushed open the door and held it to let his brother precede him into the courtroom.

Several hours later , the two men exited the courtroom satisfied that their testimony helped solidify the ADA's case against the suspect. Joe proposed lunch before heading back to the office. Between bites of a grilled reuben he interrogated his brother about the past weekend. "SO, who got fat? Who went bald and who still looked like they were 18?" He mumbled as sauerkraut dribbled out of his mouth back onto the plate. "And how obvious was the plastic surgery?"

Frank choked on the Pepsi he was drinking as he snorted with laughter despite himself. "Everyone was fine. A few even asked about you."

"Everyone, huh?" Joe cocked an eyebrow. "Including a certain slightly pudgy blond ex girlfriend?"

Frank gaped. "How did you..."

"Ran into Chet at Ace. He was on the yearly winter feed corn run. I was waiting for them to mix paint. Who knew white came in so many shades" he shook his head with a laugh.

"What do you need paint for?" Frank deftly tried to steer the conversation away from the unspoken topic.

"Hall's re doing the third bedroom. And your obvious and pathetic attempt to change the subject has failed, Big Brother." the trademark smirk didn't let up. "Chet said you didn't say three words to her all night." The grin faded and Joe turned serious. "Not like you, at all."

"Joe, the last time we spoke Callie did all the talking, and she made it quite clear what her feelings were on us, my job and a host of other contentious subjects. Including you and you weren't even around then!" Frank said. "Back then, I was hurt, feeling abandoned and generally depressed. But after a time, I started seeing things with some clarity. Actually Chet and Phil helped a little, by reminding me of all the times she would throw a hissy fit and get her way and I would let her to keep the peace."

He sat back and stretched before continuing. "I know that 98% of all high school romances end after graduation and the first love is something you never really get over, but I came to realize that Callie and I were never really in love. Not like you and Iola, or Vanessa. Callie was spoiled, coddled and used to always getting her way, and when I stopped catering to her every whim and desire, she got prissy about it." he shook his head. "After you left, one of the first things she said to me after I told her was something to the effect of 'good, now you can forget about that silly Private Investigator stuff and get a real job.' It was like she could not grasp the fact that I was always going to follow in Dad's footsteps with or without you." he sighed before starting in on his dessert.

"And when I decided to not follow her to CalTech, she took it as a personal insult. She didn't want to hear my perfectly logical explanation as to why not."

"Knowing you, you tried to logic her to death. 'NYU is cheaper, I can commute on weekends etc.'" Joe commented.

"Yup. And when I mentioned that I didn't want to leave Mom and Dad without either son close by she just lost it."

"What was the real reason?" Joe asked.  
"What do you mean?" Frank replied, confused

"Dude. You forget. I wrote letters to Mom every other week. I know every scholarship offer you got. And I also know Aunt Gertrude offered to help pay for some of the expenses a scholarship wouldn't cover, no matter what school you attended." He leaned back, and folded his arms. "I also know Cal Tech has one of the best programs in the country in computer forensics. Between all that and the fact that Aunt Carole lived ten minutes away and had an empty bedroom she offered to you for free in exchange for some lawn mowing and leaf raking, you could have attended for less money than it cost to attend NYU." Joe peered knowingly at his brother.

"You win." Frank shrugged. "I was emotionally drained by so much that was going on that the thought of having to continue dealing with all the drama was just too much. I wanted the space and some peace and quiet. She acted like I had cut her heart out and stomped all over it with spiked shoes because I told her I wasn't going to college 3000 miles away. It was a personal affront to her, it had nothing to do with what I wanted and needed at the time."

"You know she and I never really got along. And not just because we both wanted the lion's share of your attention. She had a way of manipulating the entire group to get her way. She never compromised on a single thing, ever. And I had other distractions when I couldn't have you. Football, Baseball, Van, Iola. With her she had no life outside of the one she had as Frank Hardy's Girlfriend."

"Had no idea I was such a prize." Frank chuckled in chagrin.

"Everybody gravitates to you, Bro. As a leader, as someone they want to emulate, as an all around good guy." Joe smiled fondly at his boyhood idol. "But while most of us were content to have dribs and drabs of your wisdom and guidance, she wanted it all to herself. She wasn't just jealous of me, she was jealous of the entire gang. You were her favorite toy that she was unwilling to share. And she refused to have a life outside of you. Even I was never that clingy and possessive."

"Hmm, are you sure about that? I seem to remember a time when you refused to sleep anywhere but in my room, in my bed and only if I read you a bedtime story." Frank smirked.

"I was three. And that doesn't count as obviously there were monsters on my closet and Dad wasn't around to evict them." Joe retorted, refusing to rise to the bait. "As soon as he came back and performed the exorcism, I went right back to my own bed. So nyah."

"Longest two weeks of my life." Frank muttered under his breath.

"What was that?!" Joe asked, mock offended.

"Nothing, Little Brother Nothing at all." Frank was the picture of innocence as he stood up, leaving a few scattered bills as a tip. "But we have to get back to the office."

 **A/n:** _make this one last though, Boys and Girls. somehow or another every single day for the next 10 or so has something going on.. most of which require me to put on a bra and leave the house. it's not so much the leaving house part that is annoying, it's the putting on a bra. especially since recent studies indicate they do nothing for the girls whatsoever. Oh and before anyone asks; yes Callie will be making another appearance, and not in a flashback._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/n:** _Happy eat too much candy 'til you puke day. so this is the last chapter. sort of._

 **Chapter Four**

The office was guarded by their secretary Martha, a grandmotherly type who had not been ready to put her feet up after forced retirement as a long time member of the Bayport police department's administrative offices. As the brothers entered she already was on her feet with a pile of mail in each hand, which was summarily shoved into each man's own arms. "The urgent ones are on top, Boys." she smiled affably before asking if either of them wanted coffee. After a pair of 'Yes, Please' es she said she'd be right in with cups and they should just get started on their work. "Joanna has already been by this morning. She's spending the afternoon tracking down those witnesses for the Waverly Case."

It had been established years ago, when the boys were still in middle school, that they each needed privacy to do any real work. It was one of the reasons they had their own bedrooms growing up. Joe tended to get distracted easily and functioned better with background noise, usually his favorite music. Frank needed silence and no hyperactive little brothers to disturb his concentration. Therefore, separate offices were the order of the day. Joanna maintained a desk in Joe's office but rarely used it at all and Sam was only used sporadically these days so didn't even have one.

At 4, Frank popped his head in to Joe's domain and said he was taking off for the evening. "What?! Leaving before dark?! Who are you and what have you done with my brother?!" came the amused reply.

"One of Gloria's kids has a wake tonight. Told her I'd go along for support."

"Ahh. Might I suggest it would be in poor taste to pop the question tonight then." Joe's smile had faded a little at the news but he still remained, as always, a bit irreverent.

"Some of us do have tact, Little Brother." Frank shook his head as he left.

Joe chuckled as the door closed behind his brother but was soon engrossed in trying to spot any sign that one Janice Collins was perhaps exaggerating the extent of her injuries sustained in a car accident by carefully going over photographs and the occasional security camera tape provided by a few department stores and the Bayport Sports complex where her daughter often played soccer.

Martha left at 5, but not before checking with Joe to make sure he didn't need anything else. "Nahh. I'll order in and do some catching up on stuff. Have a good night." His wife was in Baltimore on yet another business trip with Phil Cohen trying to convince the NSA to buy their services. Therefore he felt exactly zero guilt staying late and using the time to crawl out from under the pile his brother was constantly harping about.

Even so, it was well before 7 when he called it a day and locked up. As he was walking outside, his phone rang and he spent a few minutes happily catching up with Halloran. As a result, he totally failed to notice the figure seated in the beat up station wagon in the parking spot closest to the door.

Meanwhile, Frank and Gloria, having paid their respects to the bereaved parents, headed out to a late dinner at Prito's. Despite the ring burning a hole in his jacket pocket, Frank was in no rush. Disregarding a few not so subtle hints from his parents, friends and brother, he knew that when the time was right, he'd ask Gloria for her hand. Until then, he was prepared to wait. Unlike his blond sibling, Frank was patient.

They were just finishing up dessert; a limonchello cake that was the restaurant's signature item. Gloria, who was facing the door, looked over her coffee cup and paused, frowning. "What's up?" Frank asked.

"Nothing. It's just..." Gloria trailed off as the person she had seen enter looked around and then made a beeline for their table.

"I need to talk to you." Callie Shaw demanded to Frank as she placed a hand on his arm and tugged, completely ignoring Gloria's now outraged countenance. Frank tugged his arm out of Callie's grip and didn't move so much as an inch out of the booth.

"Gloria and I are finishing up a lovely dinner and I have nothing more to say to you than was already said at the reunion. Good bye, Callie." and with that he turned slightly in his seat and ignored the interruption. Callie tried once more to get him to speak to her but the waiter noticed the disturbance and adroitly slipped over to present the check. Frank pulled a few bills out of his wallet, slipped them into the fake leather folder and slid out of the booth, causing Callie to stumble back a little. He extended his hand to his date, helped her up and walked away without another word.

The next morning, Joe arrived at the Agency and was immediately informed that someone had been waiting outside the door when Martha had arrived that morning at 730 to begin her work day. "She is very adamant that she speak to Mr Frank and as soon as she found out which office was his she headed straight for it and will not leave!" Martha was in a tizzy. "I am about to call the police and have her forcibly removed!"

"Isn't he here?" Joe asked, looking at his watch. Frank beat him by a good hour most days.

"No. He called and said he'd be in after a meeting at the Precinct." Joe had forgotten that Chief Riley had asked for their help on a puzzling string of arson fires in abandoned properties all over town.

"Right. Never mind, Aunty M. I'll take care of our visitor." With a peck on the older woman's cheek he headed to the back office. "I'm sorry, Miss, but Frank is unavailable today but perhaps I can he..." Joe stopped mid sentence. "Callie." he stopped just inside the door and folded his arms.

Callie had whirled around at the sound of his voice but slumped in defeat as she realized it wasn't Frank who was standing there glaring at her. "Frank doesn't conduct personal business in the office under any circumstances. And I am not about to give you their address." he emphasized the word 'their' very subtly.

"This isn't personal business." She bit off the words reluctantly.

"That I doubt very highly. Besides we are actually swamped with more cases that we can reasonably handle and would be unable to take on any new ones at this time. I'm sorry but he really will not be in the office any time soon today so you are going to have to leave." Joe was polite but firm. He stepped aside and swung his arm in an 'after you' gesture.

Seeing that is was futile to resist or protest, Callie sighed and grabbed the drab coat she had tossed over a chair back and slipped it over her shoulders. She allowed Joe to escort her into the front reception area and to open the outer door for her. "Goodbye, Callie. Don't make this any worse for yourself. Just go back to wherever you came from and live your life." Joe held out a hand, which she accepted with a limp grasp.

"Just tell him I was here and that I need to talk to him. I'll be at my parents' house for a few more days. Please, Joe." the pleading was almost pathetic.

"Honestly Cal, I think you are wasting your time but I will pass along the information." Joe held the door open and waited until she was down the stairs before stepping back into the office. As soon as he was back in his own office he texted Frank and dutifully passed along the request. A few minutes later he got a reply. It was as he expected and subsequently put Callie Shaw out of his mind for good.

Or so he thought.

 **A/n:** _Queen of the_ _cliffhanger. that's me. I have discovered that no matter how much I try I just can't give Frank justice as a main protagonist. he's a great sidekick and foil but I just don't 'feel' him like I do Joe and as a result I often feel he's a flat caricature. But I did decide to expand on my initial half baked plan. the next story will have more Callie and then delve into the real reason she is so desperate to see Frank._


End file.
